Connect with us

Life style

Diminishing Dumbara patterns call for revival

Published

on

The Anthropology Department of the Colombo National Museum is home to a striking repertoire of Dumbara designs. The collection which is open to the public only through temporary exhibitions, urges the revival of this fast diminishing traditional form of Lankan art which is described as a kind of ‘artistic meditation.’

by Randima Attygalle

The staff of the Anthropology Department of the Colombo National Museum treats me to a feast of painstakingly designed exotic dumbara mats, tapestries, cushion covers, purses and much more. I marvel at the skill of the traditional Lankan artisan which is often taken for granted, bargained over, driven to substitute with other means of income today.

Once the staple of the picturesque Dumbara valley (valley of the mist) or Dumbara mitiyawatha, the craft was even sought by royalty. Some of the descendants of the master weavers who enthralled Kandyan monarchs with their art, still labour to keep their family tradition alive in villages of the Dumbara valley such as Thalagune and Menikhinna. They work against many odds. The base for the craft is the hemp leaf (niyanda hana) botanically termed Sansevieria zeylanica which is hard to source today. This drives the weavers to find substitutes such as cotton.

“The difficulty in sourcing traditional inputs and the poor market price for this time consuming craft force many weavers to abandon it. In the olden days, low pit looms were used to weave hemp. Today these are replaced by cotton and standing looms. The natural dyes are today replaced with synthetics,” notes the Director General, Department of National Museums, Sanuja Kasthuriarchchi.

One of the chief keepers of the tangible history of ours, Kasthuriarachchi with her special interest in traditional local arts, moots public-private collaborations to revive this one-of-a-kind Sri Lankan craft. Unless the weavers are offered incentives and assisted to find markets, their art would soon be confined only to museums, she laments. “This environmental-friendly form of art deserves pride of place in homes, offices and hotels and a national boost is necessary.”

The Colombo National Museum’s collection of dumbara designs are a mix of donations and purchases. The entire collection, however, is not meant for public viewing, given the restrictions in exhibiting space. “We do our best to enable public access through our temporary exhibitions from time to time,” says the DG. The collection also facilitates research. They are important for the study of the use of colours, the distinct patterns of fauna and flora and other inherent weaving skills of master weavers.

An intense research on Dumbara craft by the Anthropology Department of the Colombo National Museum is underway. The community-based research in the traditional weaving villages of Dumbara which was to commence last year was suspended due to the pandemic. Museum officials hope to recommence the project once normalcy returns.

“Today the craft has been diversified and has added handbags, file covers, pencil holders etc. to its portfolio. Yet, unless the craftspeople are given a sense of security including assured markets locally and globally, this craft will not last up to the next generation,” remarks Manoj Hettiarachchi. The Museum’s anthropology curator. Museum officials encourage the public to add to their Dumbara collection.

‘An investment in the national interest, such donated exhibits from private collections will be conserved for posterity. They are treated against possible insect attacksand other hazards.’

The dumbara patterns were perfected by men and women of the kinnaraya caste, notes Ananda Coomaraswamy in his work,
Mediaeval Sinhalase Art. The historian also mentions ballads known as kinnara kavi sung by ancient dumbara weavers.

The labour-intensive fibre-production process is described by Coomaraswamy in his book. The rounded green leaves of the hana plant are gathered and scraped against a log known as the niyanda poruwa with a wooden tool (ge-valla) shaped like a spoke shave. ‘This scraping removes the fleshy part of the leaf, leaving the white fibre, which is oiled and brushed and then ready for use almost immediately. Part of the material is left white, the rest dyed red, yellow or black.’

As Coomsraswamy describes: ‘the red colour is obtained by boiling the fibre with patangi wood, korakaha leaves and gingelly oil or seeds; the yellow from a decoction of venivel; the black with the help of gall nuts, aralu and bulu.’ Added to these three traditionally used natural colours mentioned by Coomaraswamy are an assortment of others including green and blue sourced by artificial dyes.

The loom is described as a ‘low horizontal contrivance’ and the weaver squats on the mat itself, supported by a few flat logs between it and the ground. The pattern is picked up with the weaver’s lathe (vema); this lathe, having an eye at one end, serves as a bodkin called heda liya with which to draw the weft threads through the warp.’

Perfectly plain mats are called pannam kalala, Coomaraswamy documents. These are usually decorated with birds, as is usually are kurullu kalala. Those with a variety of patterns are veda kalala or veda peduru. Among the notable dumbara patterns are toran-petta, tarava,tani-vel iruwa, depota lanuwa, taraka petta, pannam petta, tunpota lanuwa, del geta lanuva and mal gaha. Animal patterns of birds, deer, cobra and elephants were also popular.

Pic credit: Department of National Museums



Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Life style

Sri Lanka Eye Donation Society gifts sight to the world

Published

on

A School Eye Camp

Founded by the late Dr. Hudson Silva, the Sri Lanka Eye Donation Society (SLEDS) which is nearing 65 years is the first of its kind in the world to provide corneas completely free of charge to locals as well as foreigners through its International Eye Bank. Among the donors of eyes are several Presidents and Prime Ministers of the country. The other affiliated bodies of SLEDS are the Dr. Hudson Silva Memorial Eye Hospital and the Human Tissue Bank which provide a yeoman service to the public.

BY RANDIMA ATTYGALLE

At age 18, Eranga Madushan’s future looked bleak with keratoconus (a disorder of the eye that results in progressive thinning of the cornea) claiming both his eyes. Thanks to his physician’s recommendation for a corneal transplant, Eranga was fortunate to have received suitable corneas from the Eye Bank of the Sri Lanka Eye Donation Society which were successfully transplanted at the Kandy National Hospital.

Now 22-years old, this young man from Minipe has successfully finished his education and is employed. “I even passed the vision test and got my driving license – all made possible thanks to the noble service of the Sri Lanka Eye Donation Society,” says Eranga.

His is one of thousands of such success stories. These exemplify the thought-provoking discourse of Sivi Jathaka story delivered by the Buddha when, in one of his Bodhisathva’s births, he gave away his eyes to a blind beggar. There cannot be a better living testimony to this concept of dana than the Sri Lanka Eye Donation Society (SLEDS), now approaching 65 years.

Separating the cornea from whole globe

Giving life to a dead eye

In 1958 Hudson Silva, a medical student started a campaign under the banner, ‘Give life to a dead eye,’ to popularize the donation of eyes after death to obtain corneas for the Colombo Eye Hospital which had long waiting lists for eye replacements but without sufficient donors. Eyes at this point were obtained only from those who died without custodians in hospitals and homes for the elders and executed prisoners.

With the help of newspaper articles and public meetings, Hudson Silva’s campaign continued. By 1961, he had qualified and appointed a resident surgeon at the Colombo Eye Hospital. SLEDS got underway officially in a very small scale on June 11, 1961 at Dr. Silva’s Ward Place home in Colombo. Among the 40 founding members of the Society was Dr. Silva’s mother who pledged her eyes to be donated after death. When she died shortly thereafter, he himself grafted her corneas on the eyes of a poor farmer and thereby restored his sight. In 1965, Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake presiding at the official opening of the International Eye Bank, pledged his eyes after death. After his demise in 1973, his wishes were fulfilled.

With the objective of extending this service to foreigners awaiting eye replacements, Dr. Silva started connecting with senior eye surgeons from various parts of the world. In 1964 he dispatched his first eyes overseas – flying three set of donor eyes packed in dry ice to Singapore’s Government General Hospital. Thus commenced the country’s international eye donations on a Vesak Poya Day when five Singaporeans regained their sight.

Following the wide media coverage this attracted the world over, SLEDS was able to open its doors to the entire world. In the late 70s, on government-donated land on Vidya Mawatha in Colombo 7, SLEDS’ headquarters along with its Eye Bank were relocated and the present building was built with the help of Japanese funds. It was opened by the then Prime Minister R. Premadasa in 1984.

President William Gopallawa at the event of donating the the land at Vidya Mawatha, Colombo to set up SLEDS

Global demand

Globally, at least 2.2 billion people have a near or distance vision impairment, according to the WHO statistics. In at least one billion of these, vision impairment could have been prevented or is yet to be addressed. The leading causes of vision impairment and blindness at a global level are refractive errors and cataracts.Vision impairment, according to the WHO, poses an enormous global financial burden, with the annual global cost of productivity losses estimated to be US$ 411 billion.

The demand for corneal transplants (keratoplasty) is on the rise with increasing prevalence of eye diseases and the rising elderly population. “Global statistics indicate that over 12.5 million people worldwide are waiting for corneal transplants. We are committed to bridge this gap every year by donating corneas and to date our International Eye Bank had donated 95,151 corneas to foreigners from 57 countries. In addition, nearly 60,000 locals including many soldiers injured in combat, have received corneas,” says the Senior Manager of the SLEDS’ International Eye Bank, J.S. Matara Arachchi.

Donor registration

Having ‘grown’ with the institution since he was recruited in 1979 by the founder himself, Matara Arachchi says that the Eye Bank has decentralized its operations today with 150 branches island-wide enabling more people to become potential donors. The online consent registration facility is also available now on the SLEDS website. “We see an overwhelming interest among youth registering themselves with us to donate their eyes which is very encouraging,” says the official noting that many Sri Lanka Presidents and Prime Ministers have donated their eyes. “A cornea taken from President J.R. Jayewardene was split in two and grafted on to two Japanese patients and his other cornea was grafted onto a local patient,” he says.

Dr Hudson Silva

Potential donors need to be excluded from certain diseases for them to be eligible donors. Apart from registered donors, corneas from the dead are also donated by surviving family members. The youngest such donor was a four-year-old whose parents offered to donate their deceased child’s eyes to help another regain vision.

Harvesting of the eye needs to be done within four hours of a person’s death and the cornea itself has to be used on a patient within 14 days explains Matara Arachchi. “We hardly have any corneas left beyond the shelf life given the big demand for them. In case any are not grafted, they are often used to practice surgery and research purposes.” Donation of eyes does not cause any disfiguration to a body of a deceased, says the official who reiterates that the process enables the donor to look natural.

Preserving a single cornea cost about USD 300- 450 says the official. Corneas are donated to patients operated in both the state and private hospitals without discrimination. The institution, he says, is run on donations made by individuals and organizations. “Although we do not charge foreign recipients, many of them come forward to assist the institutions as means of expessing goodwill and appreciation.”

Eranga Madushan who regained sight thanks to the International Eye Bank

Free eye care

The eye hospital founded by Dr. Hudson Silva in 1992 at the Vidya Mawatha premises, was named in his honour after his death. It is committed to make eye care available to local patients at an affordable price aligned with the vision of its founder. The hospital is equipped with a fully-fledged operating theatre and an OPD with state-of-the-art equipment. Dr. M.H.S Cassim, a former consultant at the National Eye Hospital serves as the Medical Director of the SLEDS and Dr. Shamintha Amaratunge serves as consultant surgeon. “The hospital performs nearly 1,200 cataract surgeries per year and the patients are provided with lenses completely free of charge. In addition, we also provide spectacles to needy people,” says the Eye Hospital’s Manager, H.D.A.J Abhayawardena.

He adds that island-wide eye camps at village and school level are conducted by them to make eye care more accessible to people. The contact lenses laboratory is another ambitious initiative of the SLEDS which is planning to expand its work says Abhayawardena. “With the help of Japanese technology, we set up our own production plant to manufacture contact lenses locally- the first of its kind here at home. This venture can save a lot of money spent on imported lenses.”

Human Tissue Bank

Following the passing of the Human Tissue Transplantation Act in 1987, Dr. Hudson Silva succeeded in establishing the Human Tissue Bank of SLEDS in 1996 enabling Lankans to donate human tissue and limbs in addition to the eyes. “Only people under 70 who are free of certain diseases are eligible to donate tissue and limbs after death and we need to obtain the tissue within 12 hours of a person’s death,” says the Manager of the Tissue Bank, T.B Prabath.

Many orthopedic, plastic, cardiac, neuro, eye and maxillo-facial surgeons have successfully grafted these tissues. During the time of the war, many in armed forces have benefited from the Tissue Bank, says Prabath. “There is an overwhelming demand for tissues for patients involved in motor traffic accidents and those who have sustained burn injuries,” says Prabath urging more people to come forward to pledge their support.

Continue Reading

Fashion

Mythical Ceylon Collection by CHARINI

Published

on

By Zanita Careem

CHARINI is a well-known brand renowned for its bold yet elegant statement designs and unique concepts. This season,popular designer CHARINI will be presenting a collection that gives Sri Lankan traditional art a contemporary twist, bringing the mythical creatures of Sri Lankan history to life, beautified with floral elements from ancient paintings.

Each element has been meticulously hand-drawn with intricate details, staying true to the rich heritage of Sri Lankan artistry. These hand-drawn illustrations have then been carefully transformed into artworks, which are printed onto fabric to seamlessly blend tradition with modern design. This fusion of craftsmanship and innovation brings a unique depth to each piece in the collection. This is… the Mythical Ceylon Collection by CHARINI.’’

Continue Reading

Life style

Experience a memorable Iftar at Sheraton Kosgoda Turtle Beach Resort

Published

on

This Holy Month, Sheraton Kosgoda Turtle Beach Resort invites guests to gather in the spirit of Ramadan and indulge in a sumptuous Iftar dinner buffet at S Kitchen, during this month of Ramazan said a press release.

The release said to begin the evening, guests can break their fast with a thoughtfully curated selection, including dates, kanji or soup, dry fruits, and a choice of four refreshing beverages. Light hot appetizers such as samosas, spring rolls, fish rolls, fish buns, mini pizzas, cutlets, mini hot dogs, and satays, along with fresh salads and assorted sandwiches, ensure a nourishing start to the meal.

Following the breaking of fast, guests can then indulge in a lavish Iftar dinner buffet, featuring a rich international spread crafted by our culinary team. From Middle Eastern delights to Sri Lankan specialties and a variety of global flavors.

The Iftar dinner buffet also offers a special promotion, where when you ‘Reserve For Five, One Dines Free’, making it the perfect way to celebrate together with family and friends.

At Sheraton Kosgoda Turtle Beach Resort one can enjoy a truly heartwarming Iftar experience, blending tradition, community, and world-class cuisine in an elegant setting said the release.

Continue Reading

Trending